Ireland to double tax on stores’ plastic bags

DUBLIN — Ireland was the first nation to tax plastic bags as a way to stop them littering the countryside. Now the Emerald Isle plans to double its levy to a punitive 44 euro cents (59 U.S. cents) per bag.

The 7-year-old policy has already generated more than euro120 million ($175 million). It also has sharply reduced Irish reliance on throwaway bags — once running at 1.2 billion per year, or more than 300 for every man, woman and child.

The Department of the Environment announced today that the charge will be doubled to ensure a “sufficient deterrent” to shoppers who arrive at checkout counters with no shopping bags of their own.

The tax will be doubled from 22 euro cents as part of an environmental bill being published next month.